More info on crash in Baltimore County.

More information about yesterday’s crash that killed one cyclist and left another seriously injured:

Baltimore County police have identified an Owings Mills man who was fatally struck by a car while riding his bicycle Tuesday afternoon near Butler and Falls roads.

Lawrence Bensky, 42, of the first block of Quarterhouse Court was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the initial police investigation, Faith Frenzel, 64, of the 1900 block of Gravel Road in Hampstead was driving her 2001 Toyota Echo westbound on Butler Road about 4:30 p.m. when she struck Bensky’s pedacycle on the shoulder of the road. The pedacycle became lodged in the front of the car before colliding with Joel Alan Wyman, who was also riding a pedaycle, sending both victims off the road, police said.

Wyman, 45, of the 2200 block of Harmony Woods Road in Owings Mills was taken to Sinai Hospital, where he was in serious condition.

Police were preparing charges against Frenzel, pending the completion of their investigation.

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I wanted to post a comment regarding this horrible tragedy. I have known Faith for 33 years and she has dedicated her life to caring for others. Of all the people in the world, she is the very LAST person who would do something careless or negligent. This article reports that she hit the cyclist on the shoulder of the road. This is incorrect and implies that she was driving in an inattentive or distracted manner. In fact, she had actually veered to the left of her lane in order to allow the cyclists extra room. Ofcourse, when police arrived she had pulled to the shoulder of the road. She was acting responsibly. I don’t know where this particular author obtained the information that she hit them while drifting onto the shoulder of the road, but it is untrue. As someone who has spent time on a bike, in traffic, it’s possible that the cyclists did not hear the car (small, quiet, Toyota) approaching from behind. I’m not pointing the finger, simply suggesting what might have been a contributing factor to the accident. I feel for all parties involved and/or touched by this tragic event. Were it not for the grace of god (or luck) that could have been me in either position.

Just to add, there is no shoulder on Butler RD where the cyclists were hit. There is the road and then grass, no shoulder. At this point, only one helmet was recovered from the accident scene. What the US needs are more designated bikes lanes on roads that are popular for cyclists- long, unencumbered expanses of roads. I have spent time in the Netherlands where vehicles of all kinds share the road-bikes, motorbikes, motorcycles, cars, public transportation and pedestrians. Bikes have their own lanes and I would guess that drivers there, having much more experience with sharing the road, are able to make more accurate judgements when encountering a cyclist. Additionally, they are each in their own lane so there is no need for passing or going around.

I’d have no idea if there’s a shoulder there myself; I’ve never been up that way and checked. Some people say it does, while others say it doesn’t. But, like I said, I wouldn’t know.

That said, I think that mentioning only one helmet being recovered from the scene is irrelevant and distasteful. If we’re to suspend judgment of the driver, we certainly expect the same respect as cyclists. Did you think the helmet might still be on the cyclist who was killed or the cyclist who went to the hospital with serious injuries? Or do you know for a fact that only one of the cyclists was wearing a helmet, and this means it was somehow less the driver’s fault? When I had a bad crash last year, the ER doctors wanted to see my helmet (though I didn’t bring it with me).

The fact is that none of us were in that car, and none of us were on those bikes. We don’t know how she was driving, no matter what a nice person she is. She might have fallen asleep, had a medical emergency, etc. We don’t know.

Certainly the US needs better bike infrastructure. But that costs money and takes time. In the meantime, we need drivers to pay more attention to what they’re doing with their cars (the motor fatality rate proves that it’s not just cyclists causing these accidents, as drivers kill other drivers everyday). Being anywhere near cars in this state is getting scary. Look at the pedestrian fatality rates. The common factor in all of these deaths is the car/driver. So, yes, we need more bike lanes. And we need them because myriad car drivers (and I’m not pointing fingers at anyone, except maybe the woman who hit me on the SIDEWALK last spring) drive like they don’t care.

What does this have to do with the driver in this instance? I don’t know, and neither does anyone else — no matter how well they knew her. Maybe she was a great driver. I don’t know.

But would we even be having this discussion if she’d hit two other cars or two pedestrians?

Look, I don’t want to be distasteful and I do apologize for mentioning the information I had about the helmet. I am NOT accusing the cyclist of being irresponsible, I was simply reporting additional information provided to me. I was angry when I read the article and people began to assume the driver aimed for or drifted onto the shoulder. I absolutely agree that reckless drivers, such as the one who hit you on the sidewalk (obvious negligence there), do need to be held accountable. And, I also think that there are situations where a driver can be responsible yet things still go horribly wrong. I will say that, although I have always been careful when encountering a cyclist on the road, I will be even more vigilant now.

I certainly didn’t mean to jump down your throat about the helmet thing.

I think the comments on THE SUN’s site are directed more toward the hateful bastards who leave anti-everything comments all over that website. I, for one, get my feathers ruffled with a lot of the jerks on there who spout idiotic, “I’m all for sharing the road, but all these stupid cyclists slow me down and shouldn’t be here,” etc.

Maybe this was a big fat mistake. Maybe. But the attitude of the wankers on THE SUN’s website reflect the general anti-cycling attitude a lot of people have and that will lead to more of us getting killed.

What I mean is that I wouldn’t take the crap those dummies spout too seriously. They say the same things on every article on there, not just the ones about bikes.

I can say for a fact that there were two helmets recovered at the accident scene — I was there when the police officer came to Larry’s house to give the preliminary information to my sister-in-law. Larry was my brother-in-law for 33 years – that is how long I’ve been married to his next to the oldest brother. His helmet wasn’t enough to save him from the impact of the car, and then his friend Joel and Joel’s bicycle. The damage to him and his dear friend Joel, and his wife and children, parents, brother, in-laws, nieces, nephews and many many friends and associates will never go away. Even people that never knew or met him have been impacted by his death. I don’t know why this happened, but something needs to change! This would have been my brother-in-law Larry’s 44th birthday today.

“Of all the people in the world, she is the very LAST person who would do something careless or negligent.”

Yet here we are.

“it’s possible that the cyclists did not hear the car (small, quiet, Toyota) approaching from behind.”

Erm… this suggests that it was the cyclists’ responsibility to get out of the car’s way. That’s nonsense! The cyclists have every right to be in the lane and the driver of the car has the responsibility to either pass them safely or WAIT!